Cyberbullying and the Gifted: Considerations for Social and Emotional Development

Abstract

The use of technology can promote learning, higher-order thinking, deeper understanding, collaboration, and student engagement. But if unchecked and unfacilitated, online cyberbullying can become an impediment to learning and threaten young people’s sense of well-being. Cyberbullying is a type of youth aggression that teachers and parents must consider how to integrate technology for educational purposes and decrease online bullying scenarios with targeted instruction and strategies in an online culture. This article examines cyberbullying and relevant concerns to educating high-ability students. Motivation will be discussed with suggestions, resources, and considerations for working with high-ability young people in developing their social–emotional awareness and strategies for addressing bullying.

Cyberbullying and Internet Addiction in Gifted and Nongifted Teenagers

“…In this vein, interventions focusing on improving parental skills, enhancing the quality of parent–adolescent relationships, and providing more information and training on making appropriate use of the Internet could be considered (Karaer & Akdemir, 2019). Specific associations for gifted students found in this study suggest that programs targeting them should provide support not only for strictly curricular educational needs but also for social–emotional skills (González-Cabrera et al, 2019; MacFarlane & Mina, 2018). Interventions in social and emotional competencies make it possible to work on social skills, reflective thinking, coping strategies when faced with conflictive situations, awareness, and emotional self-control from a variety of techniques and programs which would be beneficial for indirectly preventing cyberbullying in gifted (Rinn, 2018) and nonidentified students.…”

“…Interventions in social and emotional competencies make it possible to work on social skills, reflective thinking, coping strategies when faced with conflictive situations, awareness, and emotional self-control from a variety of techniques and programs which would be beneficial for indirectly preventing cyberbullying in gifted (Rinn, 2018) and nonidentified students. Furthermore, teachers and counselors working with gifted children should also consider more direct actions such as ensuring that they are adequately integrated and they discuss, in the class group, forms of bullying, examples of bullies, and steps that an adolescent can take to reduce perceived threats and effectively deal with bullying behaviors (MacFarlane & Mina, 2018).…”

Subjective Emotional Well-Being, Emotional Intelligence, and Mood of Gifted vs. Unidentified Students: A Relationship Model

“…A significant percentage of gifted students are victims of bullying and cyberbullying [6,7]. Being different in the eyes of peers increases the likelihood of becoming a victim.…”

“…Being different in the eyes of peers increases the likelihood of becoming a victim. Gifted children can be seen as different since they are intellectually more advanced than their classmates and can claim the attention of teachers [7]. In American society, there is a cultural tradition of anti-intellectualism that often reflects the circumstances of the classrooms [6].…”

“…There are few gifted students identified in Spain [14]. These children are regarded as different and stigmatized [7]. In addition, there is no adjustment between their characteristics and the educational responses they receive [13], they are more involved in situations of bullying and cyberbullying [18], and most do not feel supported by their teachers [17].…”